Equine & Animal Welfare Assistant

Job Description

Job Title: Equine & Animal Welfare Assistant

Location: The Hugs Foundation, Bodmin

Reports To: Animal Welfare Manager

Hours: 40 hours per week including weekend rota and bank holiday working

Salary: £25,397 depending on experience

Need to Know: Please note, that you will need a full driving license and be confident to drive a 3.5ton horsebox. Due to the vehicle insurance, we are only able to accept applications for people who are over 25.

Role Overview:

Working for a renowned equine charity in the South West and a member of the National Equine Welfare Council (NEWC). This role is to undertake the daily tasks of the equine rescue centre, including the day-to-day care of a variety of equines and other animals, ensuring their welfare needs are met to a high standard. This includes all aspects of care and rehabilitation including; full rehabilitation programmes, exercise and training, general yard/stable work, admin and documentation duties, land management and maintenance. The role is to help rescue, admit and promote unwanted and abandoned horses, ponies and donkeys by delivering onsite rehabilitation and training to maximise their rehoming opportunities.

The role will also educate potential new owners and the public in the care and welfare of animals by carrying out home checks and welfare visits alongside attending care home visits and community events. Part of the role will also be to assist in the training and husbandry of the animals that support with well-being sessions and supporting on-site well-being interventions.

Other Key Responsibilities:

·Work as directed by the management and trustees. Working on daily tasks, monthly targets, and annual plans.

·Maintain accurate paper and electronic records to include admission, rehoming, behaviour, training, financial and veterinary information.

·Assist with training, co-ordinating and supervising volunteers, work experience students and corporate groups.

·Responsible for personal health and safety, the safety and welfare of visitors, members of the public and volunteers. Ensuring necessary and appropriate actions are completed including developing risk assessments, documenting concerns and actioning safety measures.

·Assist with charity fund raising, publicity and educational events and activities. Including open days, offsite fairs, and events.

·Work to charity protocols to maintain high standards of presentation, welfare and hygiene throughout the centre.

·Ensure high standards of customer care are delivered in a professional and friendly manner whilst assisting and resolving enquiries, requests and complaints at first point of contact unless specialist knowledge or further investigation is required.

·Work within the guidelines of The Hugs Foundation values, using them as a framework to manage and communicate with the rest of the team.

This description is not exhaustive, and this role maybe required to undertake other reasonable tasks as directed by the Animal Welfare Manager.

Personal Qualities & Experience

Essential

·Experience of handling and assessing a variety of animals; including unhandled equines and those with complex training needs.

·Experience of training/rehabilitating equines and a variety of practical training and horsemanship techniques.

·Good knowledge of basic veterinary procedures, common ailments and injuries with proven experience of how to action and treat.

·Good standard of stable hygiene and stable management techniques.

·Experience of working and looking after both farm and domestic animals.

·Good knowledge and application of Health and Safety and related policies and procedures.

·Valid manual driving licence and able to drive a 3.5 ton horsebox. Please note, that due to insurance you will only be able to accept applications for people who are over 25.

·Able to work flexibly as part of a small multi-agency team.

·Good communication skills, literacy, numeracy, IT and administrative skills.

Desirable:

·Practical experience of starting, training and riding a variety of equines.

·A working knowledge of animal welfare policies and law.

·Experience of undertaking equine homing and welfare checks.

·Administrative skills and knowledge of Microsoft, CRM databases, scheduling and time management.

·Previous team leader experience; including volunteers, small groups.

·Experience with young people between the ages of 4-18 and adults with a range of disabilities, special educational needs and mental ill health.

·Experience of working in the equine or animal welfare charity sector.

·Experience of charity fundraising and assisting with promotional events.

·Qualified in B&E trailer driving, LGV driving, or experience of transporting horses.

·Local knowledge of animal welfare in Cornwall and Devon.

·Experience of using land maintenance equipment (i.e., chain harrowing, hedge trimming)

·Experience of using tractors, quad bikes, trailers.

The successful candidate will have a cheerful, kind, confident and friendly approach, with the ability to work on their own and in a small team. This will include working outside in all weathers and seasons. They will demonstrate the flexibility and empathy required when working with animals and a confident, professional, and courteous approach to members of the public and clients. They will show a commitment to the aims of The Hugs Foundation and possess a willingness and ability to learn and follow instructions. They will be good humoured and enjoy working in a close-knit team. They must be able to prioritise tasks and demands whilst always maintaining a professional, polite and patient approach to centre staff, volunteers, patrons, general public and service users.

Other Job Details:

Standard hours are 40 hours per week on a rolling rota, which will include weekend and bank holiday working.However, due to the nature of the work of The Hugs Foundation and this post, it may be necessary to exceed these hours when the workload demands, for example, welfare emergencies. In the interest of Health & Safety and to perform a physically active job, team members are required to maintain a suitable level of fitness to enable them to perform their job effectively and safely.

Note: All appointments are subject to satisfactory pre-employment checks, including a satisfactory Enhanced criminal records (with Barred List check if the role will be actively engaged in regulated activity) through the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). This will only be submitted once the role is offered and accepted.

If you feel you have the skills and experience to apply for this position, please email jana@hugsfoundation.org.uk for an application pack. We would love to hear from you!

Closing date 31^st July 2025, although the job may close sooner if a suitable candidate is found.

Interviews will be conducted throughout July as applications come in.

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